Marcus Aurelius: A Great Philosopher or a King - Research Paper Example

Your Full Your 21 November Marcus Aurelius: A Great Philosopher or a King? Marcus Aurelius Antonius was born in 121 A.D. to Marcus Annius Verus III and Domitia Lucilla at Rome. Verus III was a praetor, whereas Lucilla had inherited a lot of wealth through her mother. This included a brick factory, which was very profitable as a lot of construction was carried out in Rome during those days (Birley 30). He was orphaned at the age of three, whereby he was adopted by his paternal grandfather Marcus Annius Verus II (Birley 31, 33). Not much is known as to how he acquired the special patronage of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, however, at the young age of six, he was enrolled in the equestrian order on the Emperor’s recommendation (Birley 36). Hadrian also appointed him as a priest at the young age of eight (Liukkonen). At the very young age of eleven, Marcus was introduced to the Stoic tradition of philosophy. His tutor Fronto had told Marcus to stay away from philosophy telling him that it was a subject which had to be delved into completely, and could not be merely touched upon (Birley 69). However, Marcus did not follow his teacher’s advice and, later on, abandoned all other studies in favor of philosophy. When Hadrian appointed Antoninus Pius as his successor, he laid down that Antoninus adopt Marcus as a son (Birley 49). Upon Hadrian’s death, Antoninus also offered Marcus to marry his daughter, Faustina, a proposal Marcus accepted (Birley 54). He married Faustina in 145 A.D., “and in 147 [A.D.] the imperium and tribunicia potestas, the main formal powers of emperorship, were conferred upon him” (Encyclopedia Britannica). Upon the death of Antoninus in 161 A.D., Marcus was to become king, however, in keeping with Hadrian’s wishes, he declined to become the sole ruler of Rome, stipulating that his adopted brother, Lucius Verus, be given the same status (Birley 116). Thus, till Lucius’ death in 169 A.D., Marcus ruled jointly with him. Marcus became the sole Roman emperor in 169, and ruled the dominion till his death in 180 A.D. His rule was plagued with many difficulties, with famine and war besetting his empire repeatedly. The empire was constantly under attack by one group of invaders or another, the trouble starting with the war between Rome and Parthia in 161 A.D. The soldiers returning from the war five years later brought disease with them which devastated the empire still further. It was this pestilence, which may have been measles, which Lucius was also effected by, and which eventually caused his death in 169 A.D. Even though he shared the emperorship with Lucius, it was Marcus who did much of the administrative work, Lucius being prone to following his whims (Birley 129; The Roman Empire). During his travels and expeditions, he kept a journal of sorts, in which he recorded his thoughts on various matters. The compilation of his work is printed under the title Meditations. However, his work is quite disjointed and it is very hard to pin down his influences, yet a reading of his meditations reveal that he was more inclined towards stoicism than any other prevalent philosophical traditions. “Yet it is probably fair to admit that Marcus was at least open to ideas from other philosophical traditions, being impressed by Stoic philosophy, but not merely an unthinking disciple of Stoicism” (Sellars). Perhaps it was his philosophical leanings that made him cling to an idea of a “just” emperor who had to follow his duties irrespective of his personal desires. It is quite easily discernable that Marcus Aurelius did not seek emperorship, rather his “melancholic writings reveal that the public duties depressed him and he wanted to retire to live a simple country life” (Liukkonen). However, his stoic leanings, which taught him that “inner freedom is to be attained through submission to providence, and rigorous detachment from everything not in our power” (Liukkonen), enabled him to submit to providence and play his part as the emperor of Rome, because that was what providence had decided for him. His role, both as an emperor and as a philosopher, has been much scrutinized. He is included in the list of “Five Good Emperors” that was formulated by Niccolò Machiavelli in 1503. Moreover, some also regard him as one of the most prominent Stoic philosophers. Whether he was a better philosopher than an emperor is open to debate. Further still, the facts that he was a good philosopher or that he was a good emperor are also pretty much open to debate. As Roman Emperors were wont to do, a lot of his time was spent in settling disputes and hearing petitions pertaining to law. Not only did he have a skilful legal mind, he was also “a conscientiously just emperor” (Birley 133). He enacted laws for the manumission of slaves, as well as improving the guardianship laws regarding orphans and/or minors. He also made favorable laws for widows. Moreover, many steps were taken to decrease the strictness of the civil law, as well as removing the irregularities and inconsistencies it contained. However, not too much credit should be given Marcus Aurelius for that. This process was not due to Marcus’ interest on his law or his legal acumen, but was, rather, “inherited than novel, and the measures were refinements rather than radical changes in the structure of law or society” (Encyclopedia Britannica). Moreover, it should be pointed out that in the area of criminal law, much harsher changes were made; a division of classes were made: “honestiores and humiliores; with two separate scales of punishments for crimes, harsher and more degrading for the humiliores at every point” (Encyclopedia Britannica). During his emperorship, there was an increase in the persecution of Christians. The attitude of Roman emperors had always been antagonistic towards the Christians: “outlined in Trajan’s rescript to Pliny… Christians [were not to be] sought out; if brought before the courts, legal proof of their guilt [was to be] forthcoming” (Healy). However, during Marcus’ reign, this attitude gave way to a more strict approach (Healy). Again, Marcus cannot be blamed for this change in attitude; because of famines and pestilence Romans were anxious to please their gods, and the persecution of those who rejected the gods was considered to be means of placating them. Moreover, the harsh edicts with regard to treatment of Christians were not issued by Marcus, but by local authorities. Therefore, Marcus was not exactly a cruel despot. It is, however, noteworthy that he did not issue any edicts that favored the Christians or protected them from persecution either. Much of Marcus’ reign, as has been pointed out before, was filled with warfare, and Marcus was busy in marching to one battlefield or another, if not engaged in battle. During this time, he wrote what is now famously known as The Meditations. These are “personal reflections and aphorisms, written for his own edification” (Liukkonen). It is through these personal reflections that we come to know of his Stoic leanings. Since during this time Epictetus was one of the most, if not the most, renowned scholars of Stoicism, it is plain that much of Marcus’ writings is influenced by him (Sellars). Meditations, which “is perhaps the most famous book ever written by a monarch” (The Roman Empire), consists of twelve disjointed books, the first of which is different in style – different enough for it to be assumed that it may have been written separately (Sellars). However, the style in which they are written shows that perhaps he intended them to be personal notes only. The writing is quite disorganized, with Bertrand Russell finding them to be not only inconsistent, but contradictory (248-256). The timeline of some of the books can be judged based on the events he records therein, though it is not clear as to which books he authored first or when. All in all, they are not a great piece of writing, nor do the present any novel philosophy. Most of his reflections were, as has been stated, personal and the ideas were mostly borrowed from the prominent Stoic philosophers of his time. Hence, the writings do not add much to stoicism, but can be termed a rehashing of the then present trends. Marcus’ rule was, perhaps, the start of the decline of the Roman Empire. This is not to say that he caused the downfall thereof, but after his death, there was a steady decline, which eventually led to the fall of the Roman Empire. His personal notes or Meditations do not merit as much importance as some scholars give them, neither were they revolutionary nor did they present new ideas. Keeping this in mind, and the track record of his rule, it is clear that Marcus Aurelius, lauded as one of the best Roman Emperors, was neither a great philosopher nor an exceptional Caesar. He was a philosopher king, that much is true, and he deemed himself to be one, as is evident from Meditations. But to term him exceptional as either a philosopher or a despot would be saying too much. All things considered, Marcus Aurelius was an emperor who tried, in line with his own philosophical leanings, to make the best of what providence had ordained for him. His role as an emperor interfered with his philosophical interests (as mentioned before, he did not really seek to be emperor), and his philosophical interests, in turn, did not let him rule as Caesars before him had, with impunity and decisiveness. Therefore, Marcus Aurelius was an average philosopher and a “not too bad” emperor – his philosophy just as much as a repetition of old ideas as the machinations of his rule. Works Cited Aurelius, Marcus. “The Meditations.” Trans. George Long. The Internet Classics Archive. The Internet Classics Archive, 167. Web. 20 November 2010. Birley, Anthony R. Marcus Aurelius: A Biography. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 2000. Print. Crook, John Anthony. “Marcus Aurelius (Emperor of Rome).” Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 22 November 2010. Healy, Patrick. “Marcus Aurelius Antoninus.” The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol.2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. Web. 23 November 2010. Liukkonen, Petri. “Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD) – Full Name Marcus Aurelius Antoninus.” Pegasos. Kuusankosken kaupunginkirjasto, 2008. Web. 22 November 2010. “Marcus Aurelius.” Illustrated History of The Roman Empire. Illustrated History of The Roman Empire, n.d. Web. 21 November 2010. Russell, Bertrand. History of Western Philosophy. London: Routledge, 2004. Print. Sellars, John. “Marcus Aurelius.” IEP.com. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 4 May 2005. Web . 22 November 2010. Read More